Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The Delay

This post was featured in BlogAdda's Spicy Saturday Picks listing, for the week ending April 26. Read the entire list of amazing posts, here.

The early morning Pan India flight from Delhi to Dubai was scheduled on time. Ronit checked his watch. Shreya was going to be late again. It's been more than a decade of their marriage, and she would still make him wait. He smiled to himself, thinking of the past. "Just like those college days." He remembered. While Shreya was trying really hard to get dressed before she they could leave, she could never match Ronit's speed. "You guys, just have to jump into your jeans , put on a shirt and that's it! Never even care about your looks. " she said, trying to finger-comb her husband's hair as she passed by in a hurry. "Baal nahi ye gobar hai!" she giggled. "That's it! If we don't start right now, we are going to miss the opportunity of seeing him off. It's his first flight outside the country ! He needs us to be there..." he said.
"Don't worry, my son will be just fine. And why don't you admit that you're missing him more than anything, Hah!" Shreya said.

In 5 minutes, they left for the airport.

Siddharth was waiting at the sitting space outside the airport terminal. He was going with his friends for a short trip to the US, where he was to represent India on the International Physics Junior Olympiad. He was pretty excited. After all, how many 12 year olds get such an opportunity to showcase their talent at a global stage!
He sighed, thinking of his parents. They couldn't reach to see him off on time, even on a big day as this. He was very frustrated. He dialed his dad's number. It went to the voicemail. "Arrgh! Dammit! " he flicked the phone away into his backpack. He knew his mom would be busy speaking to all the relatives about his trip, so there was no point in calling her.

15 minutes later, the electronic display indicated that the security checking for the Pan India flight to Dubai was getting started. His teammates' parents had stayed there for some time, then upon making sure that he would be waiting for his parents, they left to see their kids off.

Time was running out. Tears welled up in Siddharth's eyes. "Even today, their business trip was more important to them.. " he thought. Then as he was about to get up, he heard his phone vibrate. He checked. It was a text from his father. "We're almost there dude, just give us 5 minutes. And your mom says sorry for being late. I know right, how inconsiderate she is! " his dad's sense of humor managed to fix his mood a bit. He laughed and replied "K come soon, m about to go in for sec - check! "

In 2 minutes, he could see his parents rushing towards him. They met up and Shreya was getting hysterical, seeing his son go away for a whole week to a foreign land. "Don't make friends with people you don't know at all. Never accept food or other stuffs from strangers. Blah blah blah--" she was going on and on from what seemed to be an unending list of things she had put down for him. "Okay that's enough. Don't you freak him out now. " Ronit interrupted. He looked Sid in the eye and without losing the eye contact he said, "Listen to me son. It's going to be fun. When I went abroad for the first time, it was an unforgettable journey for me. That remains my best trip so far. So you make sure you have a good time.." he said, controlling his emotions hard, seeing his son leave him. "Trust me, you'll enjoy.. " he looked into Sid 's eyes.

"... But not this time. " he said. Sid looked into him by surprise. He looked at his mom. She nodded, and smiled. He suddenly realized that his head had started spinning. He started hyperventilating and soon his vision started getting blurry. He collapsed on the ground, and as the attendants came running by, before passing out, he could hear his mother's voice, "...he'll be just fine."
Sid blacked out in the next few seconds.

He woke up in a hospital. He looked around, and he saw his teammates and their parents around him. He realized that he had been gone for a few hours. But he saw horror painted on their faces.

"Where are my parents? Did I miss the flight?? Why did you guys not leav--" he slurred with much difficulty.
"Sid, your parents never made it here. " one of them started.
"But I met them, right outside the terminal! " he cried.
"..Sid, Pan India Flight AH-370 , it.. It..it crashed in the Arabian Sea. They're still searching for the airbus. "
"WHAT?!! "

"We waited for you to join us before the security check. But then we got a call from the travel agent that he got a call from your parents ,saying that you won't be able to take this flight, and they requested that he booked our tickets for a different flight. Your parents saved us man, your parents.. " he started sobbing.

"But I met them. I spoke to them outside! I even received a text from my Dad! Here, look!" he showed them the message.

"Sid.." his friend spoke up.
"Are you sure you received this message today? " he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"This message was sent last night.." he showed him the delivery time.

The newspapers carried the shocking news of the Pan India mishap all throughout their covers, the next day. In one of them, on the bottom right corner, there was another news:
"Highway mishap: Honda Civic collides with a truck. Both the passengers dead. "